STEER, Lightning eMotors upgrading commercial electric vehicles to autonomous vehicles

Lightning eMotors Inc, a leading provider of zero-emission medium-duty commercial electric vehicles and electric vehicle (EV) technology for fleets, and STEER Tech, the leading OEM and aftermarket autonomous vehicle (AV) software company, announced a collaboration to offer autonomous functionality to Lightning's customers to enhance safety and efficiency.

The collaboration will facilitate the integration of STEER's autonomous vehicle technology into Lightning's medium-duty commercial electric vehicle product line. STEER's patented autonomous vehicle technology can add safety functionality currently unavailable in most medium-duty commercial EVs, such as collision avoidance and autonomous vehicle movement, and could be used in a variety of use cases including campus employee and student transportation and distribution center cargo movement.

The system can also be used to automate parking in crowded lots such as school bus yards and transit marshaling yards. Further, AV technology can be combined with charging stations to automate the charging process, requiring minimal human involvement.  

"Lightning eMotors is excited about STEER's autonomous vehicle solution, first and foremost for the additional safety functionality it will allow us to offer to our customers," says Tim Reeser, CEO and Co-founder of Lightning eMotors. "With the demand for autonomous driving growing, the ability to offer a school bus fleet the technology to reduce pedestrian accidents is a win for everybody."

STEER Tech's technology is a full-service platform that provides a wide array of turn-key, autonomous driving solutions in both advanced driver assistance and driverless packages. It uses a robust sensor suite coupled with high-precision GPS and stereoscopic camera vision to safely navigate vehicles within geofenced areas. STEER-enabled vehicles can be either remotely controlled from a singular central command or launched on a singular basis - providing maximum flexibility while increasing operational efficiency and automating last-mile functions such as semi-automatic charging, parking, and loading. The AV platform includes a dashboard for vehicle analytics which includes comprehensive vehicle health monitoring and automatic triggers. For example, fleet operators can set customized battery thresholds that, when hit, activate the specific vehicle to autonomously drive to the charger to be recharged. Automated functions such as this create an always-ready fleet.    

"Autonomous vehicle technology is a game changer for safety and sustainability, with depots and yards being the ultimate endpoint to demonstrate maximum value," says Anuja Sonalker, STEER Tech CEO. "Lightning eMotors offers best-in-class electric vehicle solutions to commercial customers and we are excited to work with Lightning eMotors to launch the next suite of autonomous electric vehicles together."